The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Minimally invasive surgery is becoming the most prevalent type of surgery performed in the United States. It allows for greater recovery times, minimizes the need for hospital admissions, minimizes scarring and affords greater safety, superior visualization and minimizes blood loss. Both laparoscopic pelvic surgery and hysteroscopic surgery utilize complex equipment, each of which requires a tube, cable or wire. For instance, the typical laparoscopic surgical field, while performing a hysterectomy, comprises of a video cable (for the operative camera), a light-cord cable (to illuminate the pelvis), a cautery cable (to cauterize bleeding) and a directed energy cable (for devices capable of cutting and sealing tissues). In addition, a gas tube (to create and maintain abdominal pneumoperitoneum), a twin tube for the laparoscopic suction and irrigator also course through the surgical field.
Oftentimes, these cables get tangled which may slow down the surgery or, occasionally, create situations that may potentially be dangerous to patients. Instruments which are not secured may fall to the ground or may dangle below the surgical drapes where they may become contaminated and potentially cause infection and sepsis. Being able to secure the cables and tubes is therefore critical to performing safe surgeries yet presently no device adequately addresses these problems.
In this domain, all the devices of the prior art have drawbacks, and are not readily accepted by surgeons for practical and safety issues. For example, International Patent Application Publication No. WO2011097072 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20110084039, both to Walters et al., describe a device with clamps. However, the Walters et al. device cannot be mounted vertically for hysteroscopic surgery and the design of the clamps may damage delicate cables such as fiber optical light cables.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,674 to Simons describes an apparatus for organizing intravenous fluid lines. However, the Simons device prevents tubes from sliding freely through its body and is too bulky to use within a crowded sterile field in the operating room. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,310 to Wells et al. describes an electrical guide for organizing wires. However, the Wells et al. device would be unsuitable for hollow tubes and would be difficult to secure to the surgical field.
There is a continuing need for a cable, wire and tube organizer for use during medical procedures such as surgery, and which offers solutions to overcome the many drawbacks of previous cable organizers and displays a number of desirable features.